To Love An Enemy
by flowinthestream12
Summary: This was my first stab at writing dark material. Hermione was being held captive at the Malfoy Mansion after being kidnapped at Bill & Fleur's wedding. Draco saves her life in the worst way possible. It is unforgivable ... or is it? Hermione and Draco escape the Malfoy mansion into the surrounding forest ...
1. No Other Choice

Hermione set the bowl down in front of Draco, "Would you like anything else, sire?"

The smirk that stretched across Draco's thin face sent anger bubbling up her throat again. She knew what was going to happen next.

Draco drawled,"Just a kiss."

Hermione wondered if it was too much to ask that she not be touched or have to touch anyone in the Malfoy mansion. They had her hostage. She hadn't seen Harry and Ron in weeks. She knew that they were searching for a way in. But, the days dragging by signaled to her that it may be too late.

Draco squirmed in his seat nervously, staring around at the guests at the 'dinner party'**, **"Don't leave me_ hanging_."

That wording made Hermione gulp. She remembered being hoisted into the air by her wrists with a specialized form of the Imperious curse. She hung like that, three feet off the ground, for an entire afternoon in the cellar. Her left shoulder had dislocated by the time night fell. She was lucky Bellatrix hadn't been at the residence to offer putting her bicep back in its socket. Hermione bent low once again, placing her hand on the arm of the chair, craning her neck around and closing her eyes as she pressed her lips to his.

As she parted away from him, Draco suddenly gripped her wrist and pinned it to the arm of the chair, "Stay in your room. I'll come to you after supper."

There was a cackle mingling in the air as the guests guffawed at Draco's order.

The Deatheater across from Draco laughed, "Sure you're not worried about contracting any dirt from her blood?"

Draco showed no reaction, "I'll take my chances," he turned his face slightly in Hermione's direction and whispered, "_leave_."

Hermione showed as little expression as Draco had. She would not give him the satisfaction of terrorizing her. She could only guess why Draco wanted to be alone with her. Hermione turned from him and walked steadily out the dinning room, through the kitchen where house elves were working feverishly, and down to the cellar. The desire to bolt from the mansion was overwhelming. But, Hermione knew that she would die before her fingertips touched any of the exiting door knobs.

She wondered if death would be better than this. Hermione wanted to least of all die a coward. She closed the door behind her after she entered her cell. It was nicer than it had been the first day. It now had a bed and a bathroom had been conjured. Draco didn't like the stench of her inability to shower nor the visible bruises on her body from sleeping on a stone floor. But, it wasn't out of the kindness of his heart. Hermione knew he was just thinking of asthetics. He wouldn't want to have her around so much if she smelled foul.

Hermione sank down the door to the floor, not allowing any tears to fall. Her body shook with the effort not to cry. She wiped her sweaty palms on her dress ... the same dress she had worn to Fleur and Bill's wedding ... the same day she was captured. Hermione didn't know how long she sat there on the ground. She was so lost in thought that she had to supress an instictive scream when knuckles rapped on the other side of the door. Hermione leapt to her feet and picked the corner of her room that was furthest from her bed.

Draco slipped into the cell, closing the door behind him. He saw her standing a still as a statue in the corner by the bathroom. Hermione saw something strange in his silver eyes when hers met his ... it was sorrow.  
Hermione said through clenched teeth, "If you don't want to be here, you can go."

Draco awoke out of his own reverie and started walking towards her. Hermione backed up till her back was against the wall.

Draco showed his hands, palms forward,"I'm not going to hurt you."

Hermione didn't believe him. She didn't want to drop her guard and give him the reward of surprising her with a lie.

"You may freely insult my bloodline. But, make no mistake that my intelligence is not impared by it ... _sire_."

"I don't want you here."

"I share your feelings, sire."

"Stop calling me that!"

The scathing whipser had sent chills down Hermione's spine and her stony expression had faltered a little into fearful. Draco saw this and Hermione saw his hand reaching for hers. She jerked it behind her back.

"They are listening upstairs. If they don't hear something, we're both as good as dead," he warned.

Hermione frowned at him, realization creeping into her mind. This realization strangled her throat like a curse.

"Hear what ... exactly?"

Draco closed his eyes and bowed his head, still towering over her. Once it was an ominous thing. But, now he seemed to be no longer a threat. This brough Hermione extreme confusion.

"I need you to undress and lay on the bed."

Hermione's lips parted a little at the realization that her assumption had been correct. Why, of all the times she was, did she have to right? She closed her lips, swallowed, and glared up at him.

"I'd rather die."

"I assure you that what punishments they can come up with are worse than it."

"You have your father to protect you. I have no one. Why are _you _so concerned?"

"You've got me. Don't you see that?"

Hermione scoffed, "_You're _protecting me?"

"I figured that you were brighter than this, Granger. Has it escaped your notice that whenever you're with me here I ask you to do nothing like _they _ask?"

Hermione didn't let her expression soften, "I've never been penetrated. Clearly, you were just bidding your time."

"Do they know that you're a ... _virgin_?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, tears welling up, "How could they possibly know that, Draco?"

"If there are any doubts, we'll need to draw blood."

Hermione felt her anger bubbling in her throat reach an all-time high. The light fixture in the ceiling flickered, dimming the room momentarily. Then, her heart broke. She couldn't handle it anymore. The light fixture exploded, showering bits of fire down to the stone floor along with her tears spilling forth.

"Please, don't touch me! Just kill me, please! I'm begging you!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

Draco glanced nervously at the door and Hermione heard someone snickering behind it.

"Well, they know now. Undress, Granger."

Hermione shook her head, whimpering. Draco clasped his hands around her biceps and threw her onto the bed. Hermione cried out in shock as he leapt on top of her, growling menacingly.

"No! Get off of me!" she cried.

Draco pinned her arms to the bed and parted her legs with his own. He had the physicality of a Seeker, thinner than Harry, but much taller and taught with muscles. Therefore, he was stronger than her. Hermione continued to cry, turning her face away as he loomed over her.

He clicked his tongue and Hermione chanced a glance at his face. He was mouthing something to her. Hermione read his lips: _scream ... keep screaming_.

"Wh-?" she breathed but he clapped his hand over her mouth.

Draco nodded and repeated the words. He began to growl louder and rocking the bed so that the metal headboard banged against the wall. But, he had still not penetrated her yet. It then dawned on Hermione that he might never have intended to.

Hermione screamed, cursing and yelling. Judging by the silence on the other side of the door, she was very convincing. Draco parted her legs further and she stopped screaming momentarily, meeting his eyes.

"No, please don't!" she begged, the tears renewing again. "Please, don't do this to me."

Draco thrust her legs so far apart that Hermione felt excruciating pain. She felt her blood pooling against her skin. But, he had still not penetrated her. Draco shuddered and groaned dramatically. He sprang off of her. Hermione immediately curled into a ball and burried herself beneath the sheets.

"What have you done?" she breathed to him.

She saw his shadow loom around the bed and sink down next to her.

"I just saved your life without taking anything from you. Don't you understand?" he growled. "You are still virginal."

"You just assaulted me!" She cried, "You _raped _me!"

Draco rose off the bed and walked to the cellar door. He glanced back at Hermione over his shoulder. He watched a neverending waterfall of tears streaming down Hermione's face. Her bottom lip was cut and swelling. She must have bit it when he landed on top of her. Just because he was skinny, doesn't mean he was light.

"Please, leave me here to die." she breathed.

Draco saw something flicker in her eyes. _She meant it_. He took a step forward and she scooted further away on the bed. He nodded.

"That's not the words of any Gryffindor I've ever known." he said.


	2. Escape Into More Danger

Hermione trembled beneath her covers. A few moments later, she became aware of the moist part that was now on top of her thigh. With a shivering hand, Hermione reached down and lifted the stain to eye level. Her own blood was what was dampening her thigh. Hermione could feel it between her legs as well.

She didn't know how long it had been since Draco left her. She didn't have any windows to see whether it was night or day. It wasn't unusual to hear voices at any time, especially at night. Hermione wondered if they, the Deatheaters, ever slept. She laid the blanket back down on her, adjusting so that the damp part lied elsewhere away from her skin. Hermione felt light as well as heavy.

She felt like her body was floating, but her head was weighing her down. Her adrenalin rush was fading away. She had never felt so tired in her life. Hermione told herself that it would be safe to close her eyes for a few moments. This was a decision she would regret soon after. Sleep yanked her into unconciousness. So deeply she slept that she did not, as she would have usually, start at the sound of her cellar door creaking open.

Then, she felt herself turn over without her volition. Her eyes snapped open and for a moment was confused then she screamed as she felt the great weight of a much large man than Draco lie down on her back.

"No!" She felt pain in her throat from the eruption of her scream. "_Please_, help me! No!"

She could feel the man's weight growing heavier and heavier to her. Then, the blade in his hand sliced upward through her blanket and dress. His thrust was so powerful that he sliced into Hermione's skin while doing so. Hermione crumbled beneath the weight and the pain, sobbing into her blanket. The man rank of death and stale sweat. She could hear a single pair of feet dashing down the stairs outside of her cellar door. Whoever was on top of her must have left it open. The man loomed over Hermione and yanked her head up by a lock of her wavy brown hair.

"_Ow_!" Hermione whimpered, grasping his hand as he ignored her pleads, lifting her higher.

She cried out as the man spread her legs apart. She could not escape. Tears were spilling down her cheeks, cold sweat was beaded all over her body. Blood was drenching the back of Hermione's dress. The man suddenly stopped pulling her upwards and, for a moment, Hermione thought he was going to release her. But, the man began entering her through a way she hadn't known was possible.

"No, please, _please_," Hermione pleaded, her voice strained by the angle with which he was holding her head back.

The footsteps slid to a halt in her doorframe. The voice that accompanied those footsteps was of a boy Hermione thought she'd never would feel grateful to hear.

"Get off of her, Greyback!" shouted Draco.

Hermione trembled at the pain the werewolf was causing her. She tried so hard not to excite him further. Her eyes had widened at the sound of Draco's deep voice. It didn't sound so drawling and pompous. She turned her head to him and silver eyes met brown. Hermione felt her heart starting to slow down. She was beginning to think more clearly now that he had bought her time.

Fenrir Greyback just laughed, "I knew you didn't have the stomach to do the job. What a great little pretender you've got."

"I'm ordering you to stand down!" growled Draco.

With one last bid for freedom, Hermione clenched her stomach muscles and propelled her head upward and connected with the werewolf's nose. With a yelp of pain, Greyback released his grip on the lock of Hermione's hair. He rolled off of her and dropped the knife, landing just inches from her fingertips. Hermione twisted around on the mattress, ignoring the pain that lashed across her back and lower body as she did so.

Hermione slid off her bed, picking up the werewolf's fallen hunting knife as she staggered upright. The Deatheater slipped his hand off his face and Hermione could see the damage she caused with pride. Blood was gushing over the his lips and dripping down to his waterproof coat, slipping down in dark red beads to his torn pants. Hermione's own blood was still staining her red dress. She was forced to ignore the fact that it was torn almost all the way up her back as she turned away from Draco. The blood she was losing was great, too great. She blinked hard in an effort to clear her hazing vision. This did not go unnoticed by Greyback who sneered in triumph.

"Fight as long you can, little mudblood. I like it rough," growled the man jeeringly.

Hermione shook her head as another method to clear it, holding the hunting knife protectively between herself and her attacker. She felt Draco jog around the bed and place a hand on Hermione's shoulder.

"Don't you agree that she has been through enough?" he asked the werewolf, who was getting back to his feet.

Hermione pointed the tip of the blade at his heart. Something about Draco's long hand on her boney shoulder gave her the strength to keep standing.

"I'm not finished yet, bloodtraitor." snarled Greyback.

Draco remained calm despite the dangerous insult, "You can't torture someone if you take everything away from them."

Greyback opened his mouth to retort but, with a flash of green light, he crumpled to the ground with a loud _thud_. Hermione gasped and glanced over her shoulder up at Draco. His wand was still pointing at the spot where he had aimed the last Unforgivable Curse. Hermione turned fully to him, never breaking eye contact.

"You saved me," she breathed, sliding her hand up to rest over his heart. "Why?"

Draco smiled for the first time in a way that didn't feel cruel to her, "I had little to do with it. You disarmed a fully grown werewolf without a wand or any other weapon of your own. You saved yourself."

Hermione felt renewed tears coming forth. She didn't know how much more she could take before she'd lose her ability to cry forever.

"I know what you did, Draco." said Hermione thickly; he blinked at the sound of her saying his first name for the first time. "Thank you."

She slid her hand upward to his neck and gently lowered his face closer to his. Hermione never thought she would be doing this with Draco. But, her lips parted willingly and she pressed them with the full intention of giving him pleasure. Draco responded gently, his hand snaking up from her waist and cupping the back of her head.

"Oh, how _cute_," said a woman's voice from the doorframe.

Hermione and Draco's lips broke apart but kept their arms around each other. Her eyes fell on Bellatrix and Hermione's heart jumped into her throat. Bellatrix pointed her wand at Hermione's forehead as she strutted into the room.

"Oh, Draco. Tut, tut, tut. For once I had hoped I'd be wrong about you. I saw your feelings growing for this criminal ... this ... _mudblood_."

Draco's hand lowered down to the middle of Hermione's back and kept himself a little in front of her. Hermione gripped his silky button-up shirt.

"Don't you call her that," said Draco quietly, having lost all pretenses.

Hermione suddenly felt like a rope had been lassoed around her waist and she was yanked away from Draco. The same spell was cast on him and they were parted to different Deatheaters. With Bellatrix leading the way, Hermione and Draco were shoved up the stairs to the dining hall. Hermione winced as her eyes readjusted to the rising sun's rays bleeding through the high windows. In the room were several Deatheaters that Hermione had seen over the passing weeks. She could name them all. The ones that stood out to her were Draco's parents, Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy.

Narcissa stepped forward as Hermione and Draco were forced onto their knees, "Draco ... what have you done?"

Draco glared up at his parents, "I just proved that a Malfoy can be brave. That I alone can do what is right."

While the Deatheaters guffawed all around them, Hermione watched Draco and thought back to earlier in the night. He had hurt her. But, now Hermione fully realized that he had to. He had to or else she would die. He had never said that he was worried for his own life. He was trying to save hers.

He was scared the whole time and told her what to do. He saved her life in the worst way possible. But, nonetheless, he had saved her. She had been violated, but he had saved her life. Then, the fresh memory of his lips pressed against hers flooded her fiery doubt. Hermione's feelings toward him were about as clear as the blood dripping down her naked back.

Now, all Draco's efforts will be in vain. They were going to be killed now. Hopefully, it will be quick. But, Hermione wouldn't put it past Bellatrix to let them go unpunished.

Draco looked at her and mouthed, "I'm _so _sorry, Hermione."

Hermione nodded to let him know that she had understood.

"What's this?" cackled the Deatheater restraining Hermione.

The woman yanked Hermione back to her feet by her wrists. Hermione yelped at the pain shooting up her arms and scrambled to her feet to releve the pain.

"You think we're that stupid, do you, Granger?" the woman hissed into Hermione's ear. "If we're that stupid, why are we winning this war?"

Draco clenched his jaw, "You're not. Potter will defeat Him." Draco was then yanked to his feet as well. "He'll make sure we all get what we deserve," he said right before the man restraining him wrapped his fingers around Draco's throat.

Hermione heard a bone snap somewhere on his body but Draco swallowed his reaction, though not without difficulty. His eyes welled with suppressed tears and struggled to breathe.

He locked his eyes on her, "Don't worry, Hermione. I won't let these psychos hurt you anymore. Including me."

The Deatheaters erupted in laughter as Hermione frowned at him. She had never pegged Draco for being clever. So, she doubted he could get them out of this ... without help. The woman behind her had lessened her grip on Hermione's wrist. The Deatheaters' flawed belief that muggle born witches & wizards were less powerful than they were could be used to her advantage. So, that's exactly what Hermione did.

Hermione twisted around and, before the woman could react, Hermione took the witches wand right out of her hand and stunned her. Draco took advantage of the Deatheater's sudden attention on Hermione and disarmed his own restrainer. Hermione ran to Draco who enveloped her in his long arms. His blonde hair swung around his head as he fired spells and deflected them off of himself and Hermione. Hermione took down Deatheaters, as well. Draco backed her into the kitchen.

"Out that door, Hermione! It's the only one unlocked!" he yelled, pointing at the door by the stove at the other end of the kitchen, dodging a killing curse in the process.

Hermione took his hand and bolted towards the door with her other hand raised over her head. They ran between the old kitchen table and the cabinet of plates. Bellatrix slid into the room and aimed a killing curse at Hermione. Hermione dodged it but the spell hit the shelves of proceline plates. They shattered into shards and rained down on Draco and Hermione.

"ARGH!" Draco growled, stumbling and nearly falling down.

Hermione yanked him back up by his expensive shirt and wrapped his arm around her neck. He was much taller than her so he was stooped with his arm hanging around her shoulders.

Just a few feet away from freedom, Hermione twisted them around and screamed at the ceiling, "_REDUCTO_!"

The high kitchen ceiling promptly caved in. The ancient chandeliere crashed to the ground between them and Bellatrix with such force that the impact sent Bellatrix flying backward and propelled them out the door. Hermione and Draco landed in a heap in the front yard, near the edge of the wood surrounding the Malfoy mansion.

Hermione lifted her head out of the finely trimmed grass. Her face was covered in blood and dirt. She continued to ignore the glaring fact that the back of her red dress was now completely ripped up to the nape of her neck. She blamed the blast for leaving her nearly naked. She turned her head to Draco but couldn't find him.

"Draco?" she groaned as she pushed herself up onto her knees.

Suddenly, she heard Bellatrix screaming and felt herself yanked to her feet by someone so tall that he lifted her feet off the ground momentarily.

"_RUN_!" Draco roared.

Draco kept his hold on Hermione so she noticed the limp in his stride. It was slowing them down as they reached the wood. He glanced over his shoulder and pushed Hermione's head down as a jet of green light passed over her head. Hermione had lost count of how long they had been running ... well, jogging. Draco now was not, or could no longer, hide the pain he was experiencing.

"I ... think ... that's ... far ... enough," hissed Hermione.

She stopped and Draco swayed at her side.

"Hermione," he breathed, "your dress ... let me fix it."

Hermione didn't want to let go of him. He looked dead on his feet, paler than usual. But, Draco nodded to let her know that he could stand on his own for at least a moment.

Hermione nodded back, "Thank you."

She turned her back on him and placed her hands on the bark of a tree.

Draco pointed that Deatheater's wand at Hermione's back and whispered, "_Reparo_."

Hermione felt her dress almost melt back together. She turned to him again, watching him take a seat on a fallen tree trunk. Hermione pushed her hair, soaked in sweat, out of her face and knelt down beside him, placing her hand on his thigh. Draco was breathing heavily but his silver eyes were still steady as he looked into her eyes.

"I'm so ... sorry ... Hermione," he gurgled through his exhaustion, "for ... everything ... I've-done-to-you."

Hermione nodded and shushed him, "Try to relax for me, Draco."

Draco's body suddenly clenched and convulsed. Through her alarm, Hermione realized that her hand was wet and sticky. She looked down at it and saw that Draco's black dress pants were soaked him blood and the fabric was torn from the fight. Hermione whimpered when she saw a shard of one of the porcelein plates protruding from Draco's calf muscle. No wonder he had been limping. Hermione was surprised they got this far with his kind of injuries. Draco began to fall back but Hermione leapt to her feet and caught his shoulders.

"Draco, stay with me! Draco, can you hear me? Draco? _DRACO_!"


	3. The Apology

He was unresponsive. He had lost so much blood already. Hermione's arms were so weak they were trembling with the effort to keep Draco from falling backwards off the tree trunk. But, she wouldn't dare let go of Draco's shoulders. She dug her bare heels into the dry dirt for more leverage. His head was hanging back, his white blond hair swaying in the chilly breeze as Hermione readjusted her grip. She grunted as she lifted him up and sat him on the ground. She gently set his head against the bark and tucked some of his blond bangs behind his ear.

She let her fingers trail along his sharp jaw line. Hermione searched around herself from where she was kneeling in the crumbling dirt for something to bind Draco's upper thigh like a tourniquet. She yanked a distended root out of the ground and tried to tie it around Draco's thigh close to his hip. Just as she was tying the root into a knot, the root split underneath Draco's thigh. Hermione tried to steady her hitching breath.

Her heart was pounding so hard. With a stroke of impulsiveness, Hermione tore her right shoulder-strap off and bound it around Draco's skinny thigh. She watched as the seeping would slowed to a drip. She hoped she could save his leg. Her eyes fell on Draco's wand and she scooped it up. She held it in front of her face and thought of her options.

The only healing spell she had ever learned was from stealing Harry's potions book last year to search for the previous owner which turned out to be Severus Snape, the Half-Blood Prince. It was the counter-spell for _Sectumsempra_. Hermione had vowed to never use any spell in that wretched book, especially since Albus Dumbledore's death. She had broken it once to have a private conversation with Harry and Ron while in class. Her heart throbbed at the thought of them. She ached to see them again.

The next option was Unforgivable ... the _Avada Kedavra _curse. If this counter-spell did not work, what other choice did she have? Would she be a monster if she allowed Draco to die a slow and painful death, leaving her soul whole, or would it be so monstrous to end his life painlessly?

Hermione gaze upon his thin face and felt tears welling in her eyes as she pointed his wand at the gash in his thigh and breathed, "_Vulnera Sanentur_!"

Nothing happened. Hermione glared at the wound, "_VULNERA SANENTUR_!"

It wasn't working. Hermione crumbled against the tree trunk as tears spilled down her face.

"_No_," she gulped thickly, "Draco, please. _Look_ at me, please! Oh, Draco ..."

She inched over to him and laid her head on his shoulder. His head drooped till it laid on top of hers. Hermione could feel him breathing more than she could see from the outside. He was shivering greatly. Hermione placed her wand arm on his slouching chest, the wand still clutched in that hand.

She had cried over Draco before. But, never for a reason like this. The handsome brat had teased her since her first year at Hogwarts. She had even hit him across his face when they were both thirteen years old. She could see Harry and Ron cringing at her tears over him now in her mind's eye.

No doubt they would consider it a betrayal for her to accept their long-time enemy now. Hermione pressed her trembling lips against his shoulder, kissing him there.

"I'm so sorry, Draco." she whimpered, "More than you'll ever know."

She didn't want him to suffer any longer. But, as she gathered up the strength to end his life, she felt a shaking finger brush the top of her hand on his chest. Hermione's head sprang up off of his shoulder and cried out in elation. His eyes were open and he was squinting down at her. Hermione dropped the wand and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I was so scared," she cried into his neck, "I thought I was losing you!"

He felt his long, skinny hands rest on her lower back and stroke her, "I would never believe anyone if they said you'd say something like that to me before this day. I'd have hexed them for that cruel lie."

Hermione pulled back and pushed her greasy hair behind her ears, not breaking eye contact with him. One of Draco's hands snaked around her back to rest on her hip and the other slithered up to her bare shoulder. He frowned, noticing that one of the straps was missing. Hermione slid her hand down his chest, across his concave stomach, to where she had bound Draco's thigh. She looked at the would ... it was gone.

"It worked!" exclaimed Hermione breathlessly, smiling widely for the first time in weeks.

The shard of the porcelain plate had fallen to the ground.

"I'm losing feeling in my leg," groaned Draco, pushing himself up straighter and hovering his hands over the red strap around his thigh.

"Here, let me get that off for you." offered Hermione, gently pushing his hands away.

As she was untying the knot, Draco chuckled, "I _certainly _never would have thought you'd say something like _that _with your hands on me."

Hermione flushed and frowned up at him, "_Cute_, Malfoy. How very gentlemanly of you to say."

Draco sighed with a grunt when the strap fell off. He turned his head from side to side, making a cracking noise each time. Hermione sat back in the dirt and crossed her arms over her stomach.

"Something has changed in you ... towards me," she said quietly; he frowned at her. "I thought you _hated _me."

"I thought the same of you," he said, leaning towards her. "And it was all my fault. I know you won't believe me. But, I hurt you all these years to try to quell the feelings I had for you. My parents would have punished me _severely _if they even got an inkling that I liked you."

Draco was right, Hermione _didn't _believe him. _Couldn't _believe him. But, she didn't stop him.

"I wanted to stop so many times," he continued quietly as though someone might overhear him. " Truly, I did. It made me angry for so many years. When they brought you to my home, I channeled all that fury into protecting you."

Hermione raised her eyebrows, "So, you want me to believe that you teased me, _taunted _me, because you_ like_ me?"

Draco stared at her for what seemed like forever ... then he lunged forward. Hermione bounded her arms about his chest and his wound around her shoulders. Their mouths crashed into each other, kissing hungrily. Hermione writhed against him, feeling her strapless side start to slide down. To her surprise, she felt Draco pull the fabric higher.

After a few moments, Draco pulled away, "I'm so sorry I wasted so many years. I was so selfish -"

Hermione silenced him with a kiss.


	4. Where To Next

Hermione helped Draco to his feet, one hand entwined in his while the other stroked his boney back. She didn't trust that he had enough rest so she insisted on him wrapping an arm around her shoulder. Draco had to stoop down quite a bit to do this since she was shorter than him.

"Wait," Draco groaned, sinking back down to the ground after only a few steps.

Hermione knelt in front of him as he reached for his shoes, "I know it hurts, Draco. I've lost a lot of blood before as well. But, we can't stay in these woods. We need to find shelter."

"No, I know that. You just need these more than I do," he said, untying the strings fastening his black shoes to his porcelain feet.

He held up one of his shoes to Hermione and she giggled, "Draco, I don't think they're in my size."

"I've explored these woods my whole life," said Draco with a grunt as he pulled off his last shoe. "I have more stories to tell than to keep track of. They all have me slicing my foot in common."

Hermione slanted her soft brows upward, "Draco, listen, I'll look silly. Like I'm wearing clown shoes."

Draco heaved himself back to his feet with his shoes dangling on his fingertips, "Well, either you wear them or I'll leave them here."

Hermione scoffed, "You haven't changed at all."

She playfully snatched the black leather shoes out of his long, thin hands. Hermione dropped them on the ground and stepped into them easily. She knelt down to tie them tight around her ankle but Draco beat her to it. She kissed his forehead once after he was done.

"Draco," Hermione said quietly, "Where can we stay? You don't happen to have _another_ mansion, do you? One that's unoccupied?"

Draco tensed up, "I do. But, wouldn't that be like walking into a death trap?"

Hermione rolled her eyes up at the canopy above their heads, "Sorry, I think I need to rest a bit. I'm not thinking coherently."

"A few months ago there was some construction going on in Sicily -"

"What were you doing there?"

"Um," Draco looked away from her, "researching how to fix the Vanishing Cabinet."

Hermione gulped deeply at his words and felt tears stinging her eyes. Draco's worst act was still fresh in her heart. But, he trusted her enough to tell her what he was truly doing.

"I'm sorry," breathed Draco, his silver eyes begging her for mercy.

Hermione shook her head, both to herself and to him, "No, it's okay. I need you to be honest with me. You need to be able to tell me things like that."

Draco's hand twitched and he started rubbing them together restlessly, "I know. It's just ... I hate remembering what I've done. I had to chose between my parents and my headmaster. But, my head wouldn't stop screaming at me not to."

Hermione waddled on her knees closer to him and stroked his thigh with her hand, "No, Draco. That was your _heart _telling you preserve your soul."

"Do you think I have one at all?" Draco asked, his voice cracking.

Hermione never knew him to be so emotional. She felt her heart swell at how comfortable he was behaving with her.

Hermione reached up to tuck a curtain of blond hair almost as white as snow behind his ear, "I've seen it, Draco. Not just here but at other times to. Like when you lowered your wand that night -"

"How do you know that?" Draco interrupted.

Hermione pressed her lips together. She had forgotten that Harry was beneath his invisibility cloak at the time when he watched Dumbledore be murdered. She wondered if she should tell Draco about it. But, she chose to err on the side of caution.

"Well, I _assumed_ you did." she explained lamely. "Snape killed him, right? Not you?"

Draco's hands curled into fists, "_Snape_!"

Hermione nodded, "Okay, tell me about the construction in Sicily."

Draco hesitated for a moment and she guessed that he was trying to subdue his temper, "It was a while ago. It was going to be a new community of houses for the Deatheaters to stay in. But, when Dumbledore died, was _murdered_ ... he tried to save me, did you know that?" Hermione opened her mouth to deny it but he plowed on, "Of course you don't. He tried to persuade me to come over to his side. I had my wand pointed at his heart and all he was worrying about was saving _me_. I still don't understand it. It's been killing me ever since."

Hermione climbed up to sit on the log with him, "I think you do understand why, Draco. I just don't think you've ever had someone show you such kindness."

"Not until very, _very _recently." he gave her a small smile, his hollow cheeks still sunken-in.

He turned to place his hand on her cheek and she leaned into his icy skin, "Draco, we need to get into the warm. Why are you telling me about the community?"

Draco blinked as though he was forcing himself back to reality after observing her face, "Right, I keep getting off track. Sorry, I -"

"Oh, just get on with it." Hermione smiled insistently.

"The Deatheaters are too afraid to stay there now. They think the Order knows the location," Draco said rapidly. "So, since I've been there ... I can Apparate us there."

Hermione bit her lower lip, "Are you absolutely, completely, one-hundred percent, certain it's safe?"

Draco furrowed his brow, "How about we Apparate there and I'll personally make sure that no one is occupying that ... 'camp'."

"Not without me, you're not." Hermione shook her head.

Draco pressed his lips together, "You haven't changed at all, either, Hermione Granger. Still stubborn as hell."

Hermione stuck her tongue out at him and flushed at her burst of silliness. She had forgotten how to be a teenager after her stay at the Malfoy Mansion. It wasn't fair that they were thrown into adulthood like this. It felt like just yesterday she was scolding Ron and Harry for not paying attention in class their first year ... and the rest that they've completed. Draco placed his hands on his boney knees and pushed himself up, wincing as his head throbbed when he straightened up too quickly.

He offered his long, thin hand for Hermione to take. She took it and he helped her to her feet. They held hands, turned on the spot, and Hermione felt that nauseating pain behind her navel as they were sucked away from the forest.


	5. Safety in Sicily

Hermione clung to Draco when she was nearly bowled-over by a police officer on horseback.

"WANKER!" Draco roared after him, clutching Hermione to his chest.

Hermione shook off her nerves, "Where are we? Is this Sicily?"  
Hermione and Draco had landed in what appeared to be a bustling outdoor market place. The sky above them was a beautiful mixture of rich pink, orange, and gold. The sun was closer to the horizon here than it had been in London. The laces of Draco's shoes around her ankles were strangling her blood flow, making her sore and bleeding feet numb.

"We're in Palermo," explained Draco, stating the location with a proper Italian pronunciation. "Rest is a few blocks away. Can you make it?"

The sooner they got going, the better. Hermione nodded, biting her lip anxiously, "Let's go, let's go! Hurry!"

Draco paved the way through the last-minute shoppers with Hermione billowing in his wake. Hermione's stomach ached with hunger as they past a vendor selling vanilla and chocolate cream cannolis. The rich aroma was numbing her aching head. She was famished and it slowed her down. The pair of them staggered over the uneven brick road. Once they had cleared the buzzing crowd, Draco picked up the pace and Hermione redoubled her hold in his hand with too much effort.

She started to cough, "Draco ... Draco!"

Hermione had a agonizing muscular stitch in her side. Her lungs were ice cold from the chilly evening breeze. Draco slowed down when he felt Hermione's fingers go limp in his hand and turned to her.

"We need to keep running. I know you're tired. I am, too. It's only a little way further," Draco panted, bending down to try to meet Hermione's reddening dark eyes.

Hermione hunched over the bricks and felt something hot rising up her throat, "Draco ..."

She spewed vomit onto the bricks between them. Draco circled around her to hold her massive amount of curly, dark hair out of the line of acidic puke. Hermione coughed roughly as her stomach continued to clench but she had nothing else to regurgitate. She started whimpering along with the tears spilling down her high cheekbones.

"Here, here, here." shushed Draco, leading her away from the chunky puddle and sitting on the dirty ground with her on his lap. "Shhh, it's alright. Stop gasping, try to catch your breath. We can rest a minute. I've got you."

Hermione sniffled and wiped her mouth on her wrist, "Draco, I'm sorry."

Draco kissed the top of her head and rocked her gently forward and back for a few minutes. Hermione rested her head beneath his chin and gripped his dark silk shirt with one trembling hand. The sky was now steadily darkening to purple as the moon and stars started to shine through the thick overcast. Draco turned his silver eyes skyward then tilted Hermione's chin up to face him.

"Night falls fast here," he said quietly, "We need to get there before it's too dark. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named doesn't just have forces in England. They could be here, too."

Hermione screwed her face up in anguish, "What are we going to do? We can't run forever!"

"I may not be the one to stop the Dark Lord," said Draco, and Hermione thought with a pang of Harry and Ron. "But, I'll protect you. I'll carry you there."

Hermione redoubled her grip on his shirt as he heaved himself to his bare and battered feet. His thin legs struggled to keep him upright for a few tense moments before he began stumbling down the road. He could hear Hermione's concave stomach growling. As he past a pastry stand at the end of the road, Draco snatched up a plastic bag of cookies from the marble countertop. His arms were trembling with the effort to keep holding her.

Hermione was not a heavy girl. In fact, she was not far from qualifying as emaciated after her stint as nothing more than a slave at his mansion. But, he was worse for wear as well. He looked almost as underweight as she did. Hermione's head kept drooping from its place on his jutting collar bone. When Draco tripped and nearly fell to his knees, her head bounced to hang by his sharp shoulder. She had passed-out.

Draco clutched his love and his bag of goodies tightly as he scanned the surrounding streets for a familiar sight.

"Ahh, yes!" breathed Draco, finally recognizing the apartment complex. "We're here, Hermione. Wake-up! Look! See it?"

It was starkly new against the rest of the hundreds of years old buildings surrounding it. Hermione gulped deeply as she tried to pull her head upright. Draco hunched his shoulder up to help her.

Hermione squinted at the complex and coughed, "Take me, Draco. Take me there."

Draco kissed her hair as he crossed the threshold into the vacant apartment complex, "I've got you, Hermione. I've got you."

Hermione pressed her burning lips to his throat, "I know."

Draco knelt to the ground once they were far enough past the entrance. This apartment complex was very grand indeed. It didn't have the cobwebs he had expected to see. Perhaps there was a charm to prevent them from forming, he hoped. He sat Hermione on the cold marble floor and opened the bag of cookies. Hermione watched him hungrily and snatched the cookie he fished out of the bag and stuffed it into her impatient mouth.

Draco watched her gobble the cookie down before taking one for himself, folding his legs once she was comfortably seated on the cold floor. Hermione reached for the bag and Draco told her, "We'll need to save some for morning. Who knows when we'll be able to get something else."

Hermione watched him as she fed herself another large cookie, "You're right, I know. But, it doesn't make it easy."

Draco ate his cookie and tied the plastic bag in a knot before heaving himself back to his long filthy feet. He extended a hand down for her to grab. Hermione took it and he helped pull her back to her feet. His shoes indeed looked ridiculous on her. Even in the state of terror they were in, Draco couldn't ignore how ... _cute _it was to see her in his shoes. Hermione's head was starting to ache less. But, her stomach was still screaming for more food. She could hear Draco's stomach grumbling in chorus with hers as they made their way to the emergency staircase.

"How far do we need to go?" Hermione asked dreadfully, gazing up at the treacherous staircase.

"As far as we can, I'm afraid."

Hermione nodded, "We shouldn't risk Apparition. You were smart to stop in Palermo," Draco smiled down at her at the compliment. "Who knows what kind of detection spells they've casted on this place." She fished the wand out of Draco's waistband and stretched it high above her head, whispering, "_Homenum revelio_!"


	6. Dread

They couldn't make it past the fourth floor without crumbling with exhaustion. Both of their hearts were pounding around in their panting chests like a rattlesnake tale. Only one door was left cracked and they took it out of desperation, clinging to the hope that it wasn't a trap. The room was beautiful and completely furnished. The walls were pale pink with white trimming and gold wallpaper above the trimming.

There was a black chandelier with candles instead of light bulbs which had not been lit yet. There was a wooden cubby set at the corner between the two windows overlooking the pool below, adorned with lavishly ornate burgundy curtains. The floor had tiles stained to have a resemblance to wood. There was a desk for a lady in front of the twin bed. The bed had black iron framing and white sheets. Both windows had doors that opened onto two separate balconies.

Draco passed Hermione and flopped onto the bed with his feet still planted on the cold floor. Hermione reluctantly set the bag of cookies on the ladies desk and laid down beside him.

"I wouldn't have put it past the enemy to have such brilliant interior designing talents," Hermione joked, combing his pale blond hair with her thin fingers.

Draco turned to look into her dark, beautifully lashed eyes. Hermione furrowed her brows at how hollowed his cheeks were. His silver eyes had dark circles forming beneath them. He ran his dirty fingernails up and down her soft forearm.

"Am I cutting off your circulation?" Hermione asked him with a smile.

Draco blinked slowly with exhaustion, "I can't feel it."

"That's not good. I can move," she insisted.

Draco laid his hand on her face, "Let's just ... rest a moment."

Hermione closed her eyes while Draco toyed with a lock of her thick brown hair between his clammy fingers. He watched her lashes flutter even while closed. They were so long and elegantly curled. He had never given her beauty much attention. It made it easier to pretend to despise her if he could ignore her unique beauty.

Hermione had full but soft brows, beautifully arched over her wide and once-bright doe eyes. Her widow's peak pointed down to her delicate little nose with one tiny bump in her velvet skin. She had plump, raspberry lips that used to hide her buck teeth which he hadn't taken note of since their fourth year at Hogwarts. She had grown into a brilliantly gorgeous young lady. If Draco thought hard enough, he could still see that innocent muggle-born he had teased since the moment he saw her bounce in her little chair to answer a question of a professor.

He wanted to restore the once-inextinguishable fire in her that had intimidated him all those years before this moment. Draco smiled while watching her lick her dry and bloodied lips. Hermione wiggled closer to him, resting her head were his arm met his shoulder. Draco had premature aging lines on his forehead and on the sides of his pale lips. His cheeks were very hollow and his cheekbones jutted out beneath his porcelein skin.

He had eaten better than Hermione since he was allowed to eat with the rest of the Dark Lord's followers. He wasn't in as dire need of food as she was. She licked her lips subconsciously again, but her saliva was drying her lips up even more after the temporary relief. Draco furrowed his arched brows, worrying that she may be dehydrated. This was a very likely possibility. _How could he have allowed that to happen_? He hadn't protected her nearly as much as he should have.

"Hermione?" he whispered, stroking her thin face with a curled, cold finger. "Hey, look at me. Hermione, wake-up for me now."

He softly patted her cheek and she blinked at him tiredly, "Draco?"

Draco smiled with relief after dreading that she would not wake-up again, "You need to drink."

"I'm not in the mood for spirits, Draco." Hermione scoffed in her exhaustion.

Draco shook his head, "No-no-no, _water_. You need water! Come on, I need you to sit-up."  
He gently slid his arm out from under her aching head and carefully helped her sit on the side of the bed, "Stay like this. I'll come back."

Hermione knew that her blood pressure was low. She was surprised by how much intelligence Draco possessed, proving her old and biased judgments wrong. Hermione could see black spots popping everywhere she looked and knew it wouldn't be long before she fainted again. She felt like she could be sick any moment. Her heart was beating rapidly and so loudly that she could hardly hear Draco turn the bathroom sink on through it. Hermione placed her hands on her knees and tried to keep herself upright with her trembling, thin arms.

Draco cupped his hands underneath the running fossett, too delirious with his own weakness to notice the upturned glass cup set on a coaster by the sink knobs. He waited till his dripping hands were filled to the brim with water and returned to Hermione's as quickly as his leaking hands would allow. Hermione lifted her head and Draco could see that she was swaying alarmingly.

He tilted her chin up and pressed his wet fingers to her lips, "Drink! Drink, Hermione."

Hermione gagged at first when the water hit the back of her throat and spluttered a little into Draco's face but he did not back away. He didn't even shake his head in disgust. His fingers tasted very salty with sweat and Hermione could detect bits of rock and blood in the water but she drank feverishly. Water ran over the sides of her mouth and down to her red dress. After a few moments, she could swear that her head ached less.

Draco placed one hand behind her head when she had drank enough of the water to be held in one of his long hands. She was so thirsty that once it was all gone, she sucked on a few of his fingers and licked his palm. Draco stroked her greasy hair and shushed her all the while. Hermione realized that her tongue was on his skin and recoiled it back into her mouth.

"I'm sorry," she said, her voice cracking. "I don't know what came over me. It was like instinct. _Primal_ instinct -"  
She cut off when she felt Draco's lips press against her cheek, "You need these more than I do."

He leaned over the foot of the bed and snatched the plastic bag of cookies with his slippery fingers.

"What happened to saving them for later?" Hermione asked, frowning up at him.

He tilted his head to the side, "Please."

Hermione wanted to argue with him, make him eat a few with her. But, she was still too weak to muster up the energy. After hesitating while looking up into those beautiful silver eyes that she once despised, she fished out a large cookie and tried not to blush while he watched her eat her fill.


	7. Is She Beyond Repair

Hermione was towel-drying her thick, long brown hair when she heard the hotel room door open and close quietly. She paused in squeezing the water out of her dripping hair and reached for Draco's wand which he had left for her while he went to find food and clean water for them to drink. Hermione was already back in her red dress from Fleur and Bill's wedding. She hated the dress now. It was beautiful but it held so many horrible memories for her.

"I'm back," Draco said after knocking softly on the bathroom door.

Hermione sighed and resumed drying her hair, "Good, I was worried."

She heard Draco chuckle from the other side of the door, "I got some meat and cheese. I managed a jug of lemonade, too."

Hermione was starving, "Brilliant! I'll be out in a moment."

They had been glad to find toothbrushes and toothpaste in the cabinets beneath the sink. Draco was supposed to use the bath after she was done. She could hardly feign her cheerfulness any longer. The towel in Hermione's hand dropped to the tiled floor and she gripped the edge of the sink, fighting the urge to puke. Her dark eyes welled with the effort and she placed the back of one of her hands against her trembling lips.

Draco pressed his ear to the bathroom door and could hear her sniffling. His face fell while he returned to where he had deposited the items in a plastic bag on the bed. Worrying about everyone, especially Ron and Harry, was literally making her ill. Hermione hung her head back and took a few moments to breathe deeply, hoping that the nausea would abate. After about a minute, the lump in her throat shrunk to the point where she could ignore it.

Hermione looked at her reflection and hated how thin her face had become. Her hair was also a bit thinner but still thick. It just had a normal-level of thickness now. She was still sickly pale and in dire need of fresh air. Hermione tried to smile at her reflection, her cheeks still appearing hollow even with her lips pulled the way they were.

She rolled her eyes up at the pale pink ceiling before exiting the bathroom. Draco was sitting at the foot of their bed with his elbows on his knees, staring at the floor. His head only jerked up when he heard the heavy bathroom door shut behind Hermione. They shared a smile but then Hermione frowned, noticing some clothes that hadn't been there when she went to bathe. There lied a pair of jeans, a long-sleeved dark green top that had lace around each of its hems, a plastic bag of fresh knickers, a skin-toned bra, and a beautiful ornate dark belt.

Her smile had grown with each item she looked at.

"Oh, Draco. This is so ... thoughtful," Hermione breathed, walking closer to the bed while he fondly watched her examine them all.

"I hope I got them in the right size," Draco grinned. "I just grabbed the smallest."

Hermione cupped his face and kissed his lips, "Thank you. Really, Draco. Thank you so much." She straightened up and looped a finger under the cup of the bra, "You may have underestimated this size," she giggled. "Thank you ... again."

"I wanted to surprise you," he said.

Hermione slanted her brows upward, "What about you? Did you get anything for yourself?"

Draco tilted his head, "Honestly, I couldn't hold anymore stuff to Apparate to the steps of the hotel."

Hermione held the waistband of the jeans to her hips to see if they would fit, "Well, another priority is to get you something to change in to."

Draco scooted closer to her and began stroking her bicep with the back of his curled fingers, "Is it bad ... _awful _that I still find it alien to me how much you think of others before yourself?"

Hermione gazed down at him, "I think you cut yourself too short, Draco. I've seen what you're capable of, good and bad. The 'good' has the potential to be 'great'. We _all_ have that battle inside of ourselves."

"_You _have a 'bad' side?" Draco scoffed playfully, inviting her to sit on his lap.

Hermione smiled and took the offer after setting the jeans back on the unmade bed covers. She and Draco had not slept beneath them. But, when Hermione started shivering in her sleep, Draco had pulled the comforter over her without disturbing her sleep. He hardly slept that night, worried that at any moment a Deatheater would break down their door and murder them both.

Hermione toyed with a few strands of her hair, "Is that so unbelievable? Don't forget that I broke a ton of rules at Hogwarts to help my friends."

She flipped her damp hair to her other shoulder so that she would not drip on Draco's satin shirt. Her brown eyes gazed a little too long into his silver ones and Hermione realized she felt like she was floating, floating through those gray clouds encircling his pupil. She had that feeling of butterflies in her belly. Draco tilted his head down to kiss her lips. Hermione tilted her chin up and down as she kissed him.

Draco wrapped his arms around her and Hermione clung to him as he leaned backwards onto the bed. She situated her legs to lay on top of his, laying the wrong way on the bed. Hermione continued to kiss him, enjoying the feeling of his warm hands gently squeezing her boney hips. She felt a pressure building beneath Draco's pants and she pulled away, pressing the fingers of one hand to her moistened lips.

"I'm so sorry," Hermione said tearfully. "I can't do this. Too much has happened, Draco. I'm really messed-up. I'm not thinking straight."

"That's what love is supposed to feel like," Draco said, propping himself up on his elbows.

Hermione wiped her eyes, "What?"

Draco gulped, "I love you, Hermione. I always have ... and always will." He watched her tilt her head apologetically, "I didn't say this to hear you say it back. I just wanted you to know how I really feel about you."

Hermione stifled a sob and crumbled onto his chest. He stroked her back while she cried into his silk shirt, "I'm so sorry, Draco. I'm so, so sorry."

He shushed her, holding her to his warm chest.


	8. Anything For Her

Hermione peeled the wide straps of her red dress off of her shoulders in their hotel room bathroom, remembering the bones in her left arm dislocating as a result of being strung up by her wrists once while at the Malfoy mansion. Draco was out on the balcony where she had departed from him. They were preparing to chance eating a hot meal at a local deli. While filling their bellies up with meat and cheese, they had discussed leaving the hotel as soon as possible once Draco told her about the lease advertisement now outside the abandoned hotel. Hermione couldn't stand wearing this dress any longer.

She had set the clothes Draco had salvaged for her folded and piled on the toilet lid. Hermione slowly revolved her shoulders and shook her boney hips once. The dress slipped down to a heap encircling her thin feet. Since she had lost a tremendous amount of weight while captive at the Malfoy mansion, the dress had grown too large for her dwindled frame. Hermione crossed her arms over her chest as though hiding them from invisible eyes ... hiding them from who she used to be.

Her breasts had shrunken considerably, perhaps the bra Draco had stolen would not be too small after all. Hermione ran her hands up and down her cold biceps, watching the starved muscles flex beneath her sickly pale skin. She squeezed her welling eyes and bit her lip to stifle an oncoming sob. She reached blindly for the pair of clean knickers from the top of the pile and began making her way down to her jeans as she dressed herself. Hermione's hair had dried, still not appearing as full as it naturally had been.

Thousands of strands had horrible split-ends and her hair appeared darker than normal from lack of spending time in the sun. Or maybe it was due to her complete lack of pigment. Hermione hated a lot of things now. But, one thing she never thought she'd despise as much as she does now was being confined by four walls. Hermione wiggled her way into her new jeans and was glad that Draco had snatched a belt for they wouldn't stay on her hips without one.

Hermione splashed water onto her face once she was done dressing and stuffed her red dress into the trashcan by the sink, pushing it down further with her foot and hiding it with tissue paper. She was amazed by how much better she felt now that she was free of the constant reminder of her ordeal, though it was hardly over. Hermione opened the bathroom door and saw that Draco was poking his wand around the barely opened hotel room door.

Hermione frowned, "What's going on?"

Draco remained silent. So, Hermione came up close behind him and stood on her toes to see what he was aiming at. There was a man trying desperately to unlock a bedroom three doors down on the opposite side of the corridor. He grunted while yanking repeatedly on the door knob then fished a cell phone out of his jacket pocket.

The man turned his back on the two teenagers watching him, "Yes, Todd? It's still not working. How am I supposed to show this to the tenants?"

"He's a real-estate agent!" Hermione hissed in Draco's ear.

Draco shook his head, "It could be a trick."

Hermione tried to tug on his arm, whispering desperately, "No, Draco! It's not! I don't think he's a -"

"I'm not taking any chances," breathed Draco, aiming the wand directly at the man's back. "_Avada - _"

Hermione yanked on their hotel room door with his hand still pointing around its edge, "NO!"

Draco yelled in agony as the heavy door bounced on his wrist, dropping his wand to the floor. He yanked his hand back and Hermione fell against the closed bathroom door. There was a deep cut on either side of Draco's wrist. He gripped it with his other hand, growling through clenched teeth.

After a few moments, Hermione started backing away from him with tears dripping down her hollow cheeks, "You haven't changed at all ..."

Draco squinted his welling silver eyes down at her. Hermione turned, ran to the balcony in bare feet, and turned on the spot. She vanished into the air with a faint _pop_.

"No," stammered Draco, staggering to the spot on the balcony where Hermione had disapparated. "No ... Hermione! Come back!"

He caught a glimpse of her running down the cobblestone road below him. She didn't have enough strength to Apparate too far away. Draco disapparated and appeared directly in front of her. Hermione stopped in her tracks and stared at the slices bleeding heavily in his wrist. Draco hated how haggard she appeared. The bags under her eyes seemed more apparent now that they were out of sight. She was in such bad condition that her teeth were chattering with weakness.

Hermione turned her back on him and starting walking back from which she had run, "Stay away from me, Malfoy!"

She stumbled over the uneven road while Draco jogged after her, "Wait, Hermione! Let me explain! _Please_!"

Hermione rounded on him, "HOW COULD YOU DO SUCH A THING? He was an innocent muggle!"

"I thought he was a Deatheater," Draco whispered, nervous about how many tourists they were attracting. "I didn't think -"

"Do you ever?" Hermione snarled meanly. "Where is that guy that you told me has changed so much because of me? Huh? Where did he go?"

"What are you talking about?" asked Draco, his deep voice cracking. "I'm right here, Hermione. I'm right here. I _told _you I'm different from the rest of them!"

Hermione nodded sadly, "Actions speak louder than words, Draco ... and in all the years I've known you, you've made it loud and clear how you _really_ feel about me. Don't follow me -"

He twisted her back around when she turned to leave and pulled her in for a hug, holding his bleeding hand away from her clothes. Hermione struggled for a moment then collapsed into his chest, sobbing into his dirty silk shirt. She let him tuck her head beneath his chin and felt his lips kiss her dull hair.

"I will do anything to protect you, Hermione." he breathed as she calmed down. "Even if you'll hate me for it."


	9. Beneath the Lights

Hermione pinched off a bit of honey whole wheat bread. She was sitting across from Draco at an outdoor restaurant that was held in the backyard of a family's apartment. The grass was almost nonexistent but it was a beautiful setup. There was a net of white Christmas lights hanging overhead and there were beautiful tiles situated on the ground. There were seven small circular tables and only three of them were occupied.

One had two men sipping on whine that Draco kept glancing over at warily. The other had a young couple a little older than they with a baby in a stroller. A little boy was playing the violin outside the open door to the kitchen which was off limits to customers. Hermione supposed that he was no older than twelve and that he was the owners' son. The door was left open so that the smell of a home-cooked meal would attract tourists.

Draco had not touched the bread so far. He wanted Hermione to eat it all. She looked so deathly thin that he was willing to starve himself for her to get better. Hermione noticed that the round end of the bread was all that was left and she offered it to him with a small smile.

Draco laid a hand on his sunken stomach, "Eat it. I'm fine."

"_Draco_," said Hermione sternly and he reluctantly took it out of her hand.

He took a bite and grunted with pleasure. Hermione giggled and leaned towards him with her forearms crossed on the table. Draco's silver eyes lit up at the pretty sound.

"Dip it in the wine," Hermione insisted. "Trust me it's good."

Draco pressed the last piece of bread into the remnants of his dark wine and soaked it up. He pushed it into his mouth and nodded to affirm Hermione's suggestion.

"Brightest witch in more than academics," he chuckled through a full mouth.

Hermione tilted her head and considered his handsome face. He had just attempted to kill a man without hesitating. She knew that the times were different and that the time to 'ask questions first' had gone AWOL.

She noticed Draco was staring at her longer than he should platonically and felt her heart flutter happily when he said, "You look ... beautiful when you smile, Hermione."

They were in a war and they were fugitives but Hermione was still a teenage girl with hormones swirling around in her head. Draco felt his body warm with the feeling of making her happy in such awful times. His grey eyes flickered with surprise when she leaned forward and her raspberry lips parted invitingly. Draco uncertainly straightened up in his metal chair and cupped his hands around hers, finding it endearing how tiny her hands were beneath his.

Hermione pulled one hand out and reached out to stroke his white-blond hair, "I'm so sorry that I yelled at you. Not to mention closing your arm in a heavy hotel room door."

She had already closed the cut and healed the mild fracture with Draco's wand but her heart still sank at the memory of causing him pain. Draco leaned in closer so that he was mere inches away from her lips.

"Hermione -," he breathed and she interrupted him by pressing her lips to his.

The little boy practicing on his violin noticed this and slowed his strokes down to a romantic tune. Hermione slid her tongue around Draco's and smiled against his lips when his large hands ran up her arms, stroked up her neck, and cupped her face.

After a moment, Hermione pulled away and said shakily, "Draco ... I think I'm in love with you."

Draco tilted his head, "You 'think'? 'Cause, I _know_ I am with you."

Hermione nodded and gave him a wide smile, "I _am_, Draco. I love you."


	10. Let Me In

Hermione was now wearing a baggy shirt she had snatched off a clothing vendor aiming to lure tourists into paying more than what the shirts were worth. When Draco's back was turned, Hermione quickly placed a note on the stack of folded shirts. Her new shirt was white and had _Amo l'Italia _across the top. She could hardly sleep comfortably in her jeans so she had chosen an overlarge shirt, most likely designed for a big man, so that she could sleep in just her knickers.

Behind the closed bathroom door, Hermione giggled when she heard Draco curse, "It's bloody cold!"

Hermione folded her day clothes on the writing desk and climbed onto their bed. Since this hotel was abandoned, there weren't any maids to tidy up after them. The blankets were still disheveled even though they had slept on top of them. Hermione laid on her side and curled one hand to her face, listening to Draco's big feet splat around in the shower and smiling whenever he audibly complained about the temperature of the water. She felt sleepy with her stomach full of their delicious dinner.

Hermione wanted to be awake for him so she opened the drawer of her nightstand and fished out a brochure to read. When Draco staggered out of the shower, Hermione called out, "I guess you forgot your wand out here!"

Draco cursed again and wrapped a towel around his waist before opening the door with his shoulder, "_Ha_-_ha_, almost forgot to laugh, Hermione. I, um, left it out here in case _you'd _need it."

Hermione scoffed playfully, "_Sure_, Draco. Whatever you say." She noticed how badly he was shivering and her eyebrows slanted upward with sympathy, "_Aw_, poor ba-"

"Don't call me 'baby'," Draco chuckled with his voice trembling in the chill.

Hermione swung her legs over the edge of the bed and walked over to him. There was only the candlelight filtering in from where it sat on the bathroom sink. Otherwise, they were entirely in the dark. Draco swallowed nervously then raised his eyebrows when Hermione wrapped her arms around his damp chest.

"W-what are you doing?" Draco asked, tucking her head beneath his pointed chin.

Hermione smiled, "I'm using my body heat to warm you."

"I-I thought you were a witch," Draco joked.

Hermione looked up into those silver eyes, "Complaining are we?"

Draco tucked a lock of her brown hair behind her ears and said quietly, "Not at all."

Hermione found her hands riding up his boney chest to his shoulders and that his lips were descending to hers. She moved one hand to the back of his damp blond hair and pushed his lips to hers just as the candle in the bathroom extinguished.

After a moment of stroking his lips gently with hers, Hermione said, "I never thought I'd feel this good again."

Draco rubbed her back with one thin hand, "I want you to be happy. I want you to feel free."

Hermione felt her eyes welling with tears and quickly squeezed them shut to quell them, "I will."

Draco felt her hand press again against the back of his neck and he bent down to kiss her one more time, "I'm so sorry and ashamed of what I did ... to you. I promise I'll never touch you that way again."

Hermione frowned in surprise as he took a step back from her, "Draco, that's my decision to make."

"How can you possibly forgive me?" Draco demanded, "How can you _not_ be furious with me? How can you let me kiss you?"

Hermione crossed her arms nervously, "Because ... I wanted - _want_ - you to. Draco, we're in the middle of a war. Sometimes, we have to make horrible decisions just to survive -"

"That's not good enough," Draco shook his head. "That night I fought hard to convince myself that I had no choice. But, I _did_, Hermione. Which is better? Dying whole or living in pieces?"

"I'm not 'in pieces', Draco!" Hermione insisted with a shake of her head. "Draco, _please_, Draco, just come lay down."

"I'll sleep on the floor ... it's what I deserve," said Draco darkly as he snatched up his wand and turned to go back into the bathroom to dress.

Draco bolted the door before Hermione could follow him in, "Draco!" She stomped her foot, "Why are you doing this?"

She heard Draco sink down to the tiled floor with a dull _thud_ and pressed her ear to the door. Hermione had heard him cry before. But, not this sincerely. She clicked her knuckles against the door, "Draco, please, listen to me. I don't know how much time we have. Nothing is worse than dying with regrets ... except living with them." She heard him sniffle thickly and she tried again, "Please, let me see you."

Hermione heard Draco heave himself back to his feet and the door magically unlock. She turned the knob and looked up at the young wizard behind it. His alabaster blond hair was still dripping. He was now wearing his damaged black pants and leather belt. Every bone in his ribcage was visible, including his breastbone. His eyes were puffy and wet.

Hermione took a step into the bathroom and entwined her fingers in his, coaxing quietly up to him, "Com'on, let's go sleep. Com'on." She led him to the bed and sat him down at the end of it, "I hope you find the strength to forgive yourself, because I already did when you saved our lives."

Impossibly, Draco gave her a small smile as the last tear dripped down his hollow cheek, "I think that's concerning."

"Maybe I _have _gone mad," Hermione gave a shaky giggle while combing his long, damp, blond hair with her fingers. "But, we need each other right now, Draco ... and I love you."

"You're very odd," Draco's smile grey wider.

Hermione nodded, "Takes one to know one."

After a few moments of stillness, watching each other silently, Hermione slowly pushed him down onto the mattress and their lips softly collided.


	11. Closure

The sun burst over Draco's back, gold and blood. Hermione had been watching it struggle up the wall she was facing with her back pressed against his chest. His thin arm was beneath her neck. Hermione averted her eyes from the Dark Mark on his forearm. She was absentmindedly stroking the soft pale skin below it with her jagged fingernails.

As usual, she was thinking too much to fall back asleep. She wondered how long it had been since August 1st, 1997, the day that she had been kidnapped ... the last time she saw Harry and Ron. Hermione pursed her lips and curled her fingers of one hand over them, trying to quiet her sobs. Her dark eyes stung with tears as she worried over how they were coping ... if they were even alive. They had to be or else there would be open celebration in the streets.

A tear dripped onto the bend in Draco's skinny arm and he jerked awake. Hermione felt him twitch beneath her neck but she did not ... could not move. Not at the moment. Draco frowned at the back of her hair messy with restless sleep, "Hermione? Why are you crying?"

Hermione sniffled and said thickly, "I'm not. _Ugh_, I'm sorry."

Draco coiled his other arm around her middle to hold her closer, "You were thinking about them, weren't you? Potter, Weasley, and your mum and dad."

Hermione pursed her lips again and nodded before twisting around to face him, "I know how you feel about them. But, I need to find my friends."

"I don't have any friends," Draco admitted quietly, averting his silver eyes from hers.

Hermione furrowed her brows, "Crabbe and Goyle -"

"- are imbeciles." Draco interrupted firmly, looking into her eyes again. "I could literally _feel_ my brain cells dying just by hanging out with them." Hermione giggled and he cupped her face with one cold thin hand, "It's so nice to see you laugh."

Hermione realized she could feel his pulse pounding in his bicep beneath her neck, "Are you comfortable?"

Draco raised his eyebrows, which were slightly darker than his pale hair, "Actually, that was the best night's sleep I've had in weeks."

Hermione lifted her head, "_Eww_, you're sweating on me."

"Suck it up, Granger." he chuckled, smiling in a way that emphasized how sharp his jaw line had grown.

Hermione gently stroked the stubble his chin, "You've grown ... so much, Draco. You're not the little twat that made jokes about my teeth and my eagerness to answer questions anymore."

Draco raised his eyebrows again then chuckled, "You're all that I've ever wanted. Honest, Hermione. I'm not just saying this, but ... you would have made it impossible for me to remain hostile to you if we had returned to Hogwarts."

Hermione realized that she was petting his stubble and dropped that hand down to his collar bone, "I would've still hated you ." The pair laughed together beneath the thin bed sheet. Hermione placed a finger on his pale lips, "But, that'd be because I would've still not known the _real_ Draco Malfoy."

Draco kissed her finger and she curled it back so that he could talk, "I was jealous that you could be yourself and you never apologized for it - not that there was anything about you to be sorry for, mind. Until now, all my life I was no more free than a puppet in strings. My beliefs are my own, as are my thoughts. But, my father didn't tolerate such indiscretions." Draco then sighed and groaned, "_Ugh_, I need to stop making excuses for my weakness."

Hermione cupped her hand behind his head, "Draco, you were just a boy. That's in the past now. What matters is the man you've become ... the wizard laying beside me."


	12. Love To Her, Foe To Them

A hotel room door being blasted from its hinges was not a desirable way for Hermione to wake up. Just a few moments before, Draco had been sitting up in the bed with his arms wrapped around his knees. He had been staring at Hermione's back. His ears twitched at the sound of approaching footsteps. Not wanting to assume the worst like he had with the realtor just a few days ago, Draco carefully disentangled himself from the bed sheets and tip-toed over to the door which he had bolted with a chair just in case his charm was broken.

He stooped a little to squint into the miniscule window and inhaled sharply, "_Father_."

Draco heard Hermione stirring and he bounded for her. The door was ripped from its hinges just before he reached the bed. The force of the explosion propelled Draco on top of her.

"DRACO! STOP, SON!" Lucius Malfoy roared from within the cloud of dust.

Hermione struggled to breathe as Draco coiled his arms tighter around her chest. She flopped her hand on the nightstand, searching blindly for his wand. Draco extricated his hand from underneath her and grasped his wand just as Lucius appeared behind him.

"I can't change that you're my father ... BUT, NEVER CALL ME YOUR SON AGAIN!" Draco growled through clenched teeth.

As Lucius made to rip him off of Hermione, Draco twisted away and Hermione's scream at Lucius's lunging hand ripping out a lock of her curly dark hair instead was cut short as the pair vanished into thin air. Draco grunted as they impacted with a steep rocky shore. Hermione was flown from his arms and landed with a hard _splash _in the thin ice encasing the stream. Draco was slown down by the chilly mud. He lifted his head after about a minute in which Hermione feared that he was dead. She tried to say his name but her eyes rolled upward before she could no longer stay awake.

Draco coughed hoarsely, "H-H-Hermione?"

Hermione remained lifeless, her bare legs floating in the shallow stream where she had broken the ice. He winced as he dragged his trembling body over to her. The stream was slicing through a cavernous gorge. Wherever she had taken him to, it was unbearably cold. Draco kept hissing her name as he neared her, delirious with pain. There was a slice hear his hair line and blood was staining his snowy skin. Draco heaved himself up to sit beside her and pulled her out of the freezing water.

He feverishly whipped the shards of gravel from her cheek and patted it insistently, "Hermione? Come on, wake-up!"

Miraculously, Hermione wretched and Draco clutched her to his chest. She curled up to him, her thin legs shivering with the cold water being pelted by the merciless breeze. "S-Say something! Where a-are we?"

Hermione managed through her coughing fit, "I w-was dreaming a-about the Forest o-of Dean. I w-went on holidays w-with my mum and d-dad ages a-ago."

With his long, thin legs still shaking, Draco chanced heaving himself to his feet while cradling her in his straining arms. He staggered the moment he was erect and Hermione yelped, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face in his shirt. Figuring that the dense forest would be warmer than by the river, Draco trudged up the steep bank. He couldn't go any further after about twenty yards into the woods. He dropped to his knees and Hermione stood up, her legs shaking like a newborn fawn.

"We need to make a fire," Hermione said, pointing Draco's wand at her legs and sighing when a gush of warm air tingled her freezing skin. "Wish I had my purse. It had a tent in it -," Before Draco could question her last statement, the two froze when they heard a distant pair of voices that Hermione had been denying herself that she'd ever hear again.

"No, no, no, I'm freezing in my uppers!" grumbled the irritated voice of Ron Weasley.

She hadn't noticed Draco's face fall at the sound of his Hogwarts foe. He got to his feet and forced a smile while a inerasable one stretched across Hermione's lips. He knew that they'd find Potter and Weasley at some point. It was childish of him to fear that once Hermione had reunited with them, their relationship would end. They were in a war, there were more important things ... _No_, Draco thought to himself, _she is all I have left_. _I can't lose her, too_.

Hermione gasped as she heard Harry snap back, "I've been out here all afternoon. Stop being a git!"

Hermione screamed into the air, "WE'RE OVER HERE!"

There was silence before the ground beneath them trembled. Draco pulled Hermione to his chest and tucked her head beneath his pointy chin, yelling out, "Don't attack, you morons! It's me and Hermione!"

Hermione strained her eyes to look as two tall boys slowly approached them with their wands outstretched. Ron was faster and Hermione's heart sank at the sight of him. His hair was a mess, he was still wearing his robe from the wedding night, and he appeared to have lost at least twenty pounds. Harry was even worse. Hermione could tell that he only weighed a few pounds more than Draco. But, Draco was at least two inches taller than Harry.

"_Hermione_!" Harry and Ron stowed away their wands and, feeling like he was suffocating, Draco let go of Hermione.

The three friends' conversation was incomprehensible to Draco. They were talking excitedly over each other but none of them seemed to mind. Forcing his silver eyes not to well with jealousy and dread, Draco began to turn away from them. She wouldn't want him now that she had her friends back.

"You two are quick to assume I'm the real me," Hermione scolded them, though her tone was not reproachful. "I could have been Bellatrix for all you knew."

"Lupin said something similar while we were at Grimmauld -," Harry cut short when he recognized the bloke limping away from them. "M-_Malfoy_?"

Hermione gasped and extricated herself from Harry and Ron, whom watched in confusion was she gripped Draco's hand, "Stop! Where are you going?"

Harry hissed angrily up to Ron, "Why isn't she wearing pants?"

Ron blinked as though he had not noticed at first. A second later, he wiped his wand out of his pants pocket and aimed it at Draco. Draco was blasted off his feet and fell with a loud _thud _on the stony forest floor.

"Stop!" Hermione shrieked, "STOP! You don't know what happened!"

"I can see it plain as day!" Ron roared as he hand Harry loomed over Draco, who was lifeless on the ground. "Did you _touch_ her? I WILL KILL YOU!"

Harry kicked Draco's shoulder and saw that, when the Slytherin was splayed on the floor, that Draco had been knocked out cold. Hermione shoved him away and dropped to her knees at Draco's side, "No! You don't understand! He's on our side! He's always been!"

"Are you mad?" Harry placed a hand on her damp shoulder, "He tried to murder Dumbledore! He's a Deatheater!"

"You said it yourself that he lowered his wand!" Hermione whimpered back as she pulled Draco onto her lap. "I know what you're assuming and it's disgusting! He didn't violate me!"

"Great! After a lifetime of villainy, at least 'rape' isn't one of the charges!" taunted Ron, trying to pull her away from him.

"I love him!" Hermione whimpered as Draco stirred in her arms.

He sighed shakily, blinking his silver eyes up at her slowly, "Still?"

With Ron and Harry staring at them with their mouths hanging open, Hermione whispered to Draco, "Nothing's going to change, Draco. I promise."

* * *

Draco had left to sit outside Ron's dad's tent, which had been in the purse that Harry had snatched off a table before they were separated. He didn't have it in him to tease Potter about having a purse since they would all be without a roof over their heads without it. The cut on his forhead was scabbing over quickly in the chilly air, the dripping blood freezing into scarlet icicles.

He flinched when he heard Ron growl, "You could've at least _pretended _you two were only cellmates."

Hermione scoffed, "You'd rather I lie?"

"The truth is not always preferred," Harry said quietly, glowering at the mouth of the tent where he knew Draco was sitting on the other side of.

Hermione easily stepped into a pair of Ron's corduroy pants and was snaking a leather belt through the loops when she said, "Well, it didn't happen right at the start."

"We staked out the Malfoy Mansion for _weeks_," said Ron. "When it blew to bits, me and Harry searched the ruins for you. But, everyone was gone."

Harry said, "I know it's awful, but ... there was a lot of blood on the lawn and inside the house. We didn't think -"

"-I'd have survived?" Hermione finished his sentence for him. "Well, without Draco, I _wouldn't _have."

"We hoped we were wrong," Ron said earnestly. "But, we couldn't help but ... mourn. It's like you're back from the dead."

"Yeah," agreed Harry. "But, you with _him _didn't even cross the radar. Where have you been?"

Draco stepped into the tent, "On a little holiday in Italy."

Hermione slanted her eyebrows sadly up at him, noticing his depressed tone, "Are you alright?"

"_Me_? Never better," snarled Draco as he sank down to the ground. Harry glanced between him and the old couch. Draco scowled up at him, "What are you looking at, Potter? A second ago, you thought I -,"He was so consumed with indignation that it choked him for a moment. "This is as good a seat as any for a brute like that, huh?"

Harry squinted down at his foe, "Stop acting like a martyr. Just sit on the sofa."

The two boys seemed to shrink beneath the glare Hermione was giving them, "You both owe Draco a _huge _apology. Accusing him of such a monstrous act -"

"You were half-naked!" Ron protested. "What else were we supposed to think?"

"Never _that_!" Hermione stomped her foot, which was covered in Ron's overlong pants. Draco closed his eyes, trying to calm his lip curling with anger. Hermione sank down to the ground and crawled over to him, "I know it's sudden for you two to see us like this -"

"Understatement of the year," Ron said under his breath with raised eyebrows.

Hermione continued as though she hadn't heard him, "But, I never lied to either of you and I'm not going to about something that makes me this ... _happy_."

Ron said breathlessly, "You must be _Imperiused_."

Hermione rolled her eyes and hooked her arm around Draco's bicep, "_Ha-ha_, very funny. No spell can change how I feel. I'm done with the past. Draco has been through just as much as we have -"

"Stop," Draco said quietly.

Hermione tried to look into his grey eyes, stormy with sadness, "Why?"

"I have to go," Draco whispered. "I just don't belong here, Hermione."

Hermione glanced worryingly up at Ron and Harry before forcing Draco to look at her, "Don't believe that. They'll behave."

"We will?" Ron scoffed.

"After all he's done?" Harry asked, clearly struggling between accepting this and destroying it.

Hermione leaned her forehead against his, "If you knew the whole story, you'd agree."


	13. Cease & Desist

Hermione tossed restlessly beneath her warm blanket. Draco had conjured a bed for her to sleep on near Harry and Ron's bunk. He had claimed that he was too tired to cast himself one. This claim coincidently followed a scowl from Ron when Hermione asked Draco about it. As much as she loved reuniting with her two best friends, she did not approve of their bias towards Draco.

Hermione could tell them that Draco is her hero till she was blue in the face. But, they would still look at him with an expression very similar to what one would make if they stepped in a pile of hippogriff dung. There were lit candles flickering in the air all around inside the tent. Draco had fallen asleep, rather stiffly, on the sofa. It was too short for him so his long thin legs were folded on top of one another.

His sharp and pointed chin was thrown into sharp relief with the candle that drifted by his face. Hermione pursed her lips as she glanced up at Harry and Ron. She loved them with all of her heart. But, she had a fleeting desire to douse them in cold water. Draco peeked open his silver eyes, taking a chance that Hermione was no longer starring.

She was looking at those two boys, but, Draco ignored that. He missed sleeping beside her like they had in the hotel room in Italy. To be parted now felt strange. It made him feel empty. He closed his eyes quickly when Hermione sat up in her bed.

She hugged her blanket to her chest and rose to her feet. Draco could smell her shampoo and minty toothpaste drifting closer to him. From behind his eyelids, he saw that a shadow had briefly blocked the candle floating in front of his face. He felt her hand on his shoulder. Hermione stroked his exposed shoulder. Harry had lent Draco his most hideous hand-me-down of his cousin Dudley.

It had many tears in it and it was large enough to fit both boys inside it with some growing room. He kept his black slacks, which weren't designed to hold heat in. Hermione sat down by his knees and slowly lowered herself down beside him. Draco groaned as though he was just waking-up.

He coiled his arms around her and pulled her back to his chest, "Hey."

Hermione twisted around in his thin arms and laid their blanket over both of them, "Hi ... I missed you."

"We were, at _most_, thirteen feet from each other, Hermione." He whispered with a quiet chuckle.

He laid a hand against her cheek and Hermione leaned into it, "It was too far." She kissed his lips then curled into his chest, "Nothing's going to change, Draco. They'll come around to it soon."

From on top of the bunk bed, Harry rolled his eyes at the sound of Hermione and Draco's lips slipping against each other. Hermione was not _Imperiused_, this wasn't Stockholm Syndrome ... then what is it? Why was she choosing to squeeze onto a narrow sofa with Draco than sleep in her own bed? Harry closed his eyes for he knew the answer, it was just a hard one to swallow. He pointed his wand at the candle he had placed in front of Draco's face and guided it away.

Not long after he did, Draco and Hermione fell asleep in each other's arms with their foreheads against each other. Harry just hoped Ron wouldn't throw a fit when he saw them together in the morning.

**The End**

**Draco would now aid the Golden Trio in the mission to destroy Voldemort's horcruxes. **


End file.
